How I turned junk chairs into gem furniture pieces

This past August I went with some friends to my first flea market. In the past I haven't been much into rummaging through junk to find treasures. After watching many more shows on HGTV I have been more keen on the idea of finding and refinishing furniture; a significantly cheaper alternative than buying new.

We set out on our adventure, got lost, and eventually got to the flea market as it was closing down. Note to self- flea markets open really early. Amongst the junk jewelry, vases, smelly clothes and chickens (yes chickens), I found these chairs. Not too much to look at at first, but I loved the bronze color and form of the pipes.

"What a great first project," I thought. Read on for my initiating DIY furniture refurbishing project.

These chairs were super dirty, missing foot caps, and the cushions look disgusting.

One of the key reasons I bought these chairs is because I knew I would be able to unscrew the cushions easily to change the fabric. You can see here that the cushions are held in by four screws.

The first thing I did was unscrew the cushions. The second thing I did was cut off the plastic wrapping that was stapled around the fabric, revealing surprisingly clean upholstery. It looked like it was just the plastic that was dirty and aged. The third thing I did was douse the cushions with a bed bug/pest fogger. That is the one thing that is a big flea market turn-off for me-- the thought of bug infested junk. Yuck.

I left those out in the fresh air until they dried. The cushions were made of padding and fabric stapled to a round cut of wood. Meanwhile, I cleaned the frames of the chairs, they were filthy. My husband thought the cushions were too flat, so I purchased this additional foam from JoAnn Fabrics to make it more comfortable.

I placed the dried round cushion/wood piece on the foam and marked the circle with a permanent marker. I cut out the circles with heavy duty scissors.

The padding seemed to be about the right size for the chairs...

Next I layed out the fabric that I had leftover from my DIY outdoor curtains. I knew this fabric would be durable and lend a Parisian-bistro look to the chairs. I guesstimated a wide circle around each pad, and marked it off with a permanent marker.

I then cut out the three circles. I layed the foam on top of the existing cushion, and flipped it over so that the cushion would be bottom-side up.

Next, I started stapling the fabric down using a staple gun, tucking in a fold at each section to help keep the fabric taught.

I went around the top edge with the staple gun the first time, and then around the inside to tack down the lose fabric. Now that I am looking at it, I would probably recommend cutting out a nice fabric circle to staple as the last step to cover this unsightly bottom. But hey, its just the bottom right?

Here is my first completed, reupholstered cushion. Not half bad!

I repeated this process on the other two chairs. Lastly, it was time to reattach the cushions to the chairs. I reused the same screws and they went on easily.

TA-DA! The finished product. I am pretty proud of myself. I still need to get the foot covers for the chairs, but that should be a pretty easy find. I love the bronze with the stripes, and can't wait to put them in my home. Now the question is....where?

Maybe as a little seating, conversation area?

This would also look pretty as a vanity seat.

My first flea-market find turned out to be pretty successful! Does this mean I'm hooked?

​Stay tuned to see where they end up in my house. Until next time my Arrow readers.

Wow this was a long week. Starting a new job while trying to also finish out the old is a challenge I wasn't prepared for. I am definitely up for a challenge though-- after I sleep in tomorrow.

Lately, the combos of light pink/gold and black/white have really caught my eye. I am so inspired to do some redecorating! Here is my hot list of 5 favorite looks I have been loving this week.

1. PINK AND GOLD EVERYTHING! Okay so this may be cheating, but i love this collage of looks. Glam wall paper, polka dots, and colored furniture? Hello.

2. This office. I adore it. I made the mistake of buying plain-old wood furniture desk and bookcases when we were decorating our first apartment. I wish I had gotten some ideas first. This will definitely be a look I redecorate with!

3. This living room. Those fabulous chairs! The pops of pink! But also notice how well the rugs work together as layered pieces.

4. Storage, storage, storage. This is an uber chic way to keep your stuff organized. I love that the striped baskets match the striped rugs. Even though there are knick-knacks, it is kept to a minimum and works with the look.

5. This modern and French living room. There are so many components it can be hard to see them all! My favorites: the furry rug, the striped curtains, and the two-tone chairs. Oh and the gallery wall. And the chandelier. Okay I just love the whole thing.

Mindset mistakes I was making in my 20’s

Hello, I’m Ainsley, I’m 28, and I can’t adult. You’ve heard that phrase right? “I can’t adult” is being bounced around more than a kid on a moonwalk. What does it really mean? In basic terms, it is saying that one cannot—or more likely, will not—behave as an adult by taking on adult responsibilities and transitioning to that next phase in their lives. From the stories I’ve heard and the articles I’ve read, a lot of individuals, particularly the Millennials, are feeling the same way. The Millennials are having a tough time adjusting to being an adult in this world for several reasons, but predominantly it is because we view things differently and want different things out of life. We want not only work life balance, but also fluidity. We want to be able to take a few hours for the doctor during the day, and work a few hours later at night if needed. We want to make a difference in the world, and be part of a team as well as be part of social groups. We want our lives to mean something, while still making money. For me, personally, there were several mistakes I was making in terms of the way I was viewing my changing world. Once I realized them—and also because I was being faced with the tick-tock of starting a family—I was much better able to transition and cope with the next stage in my life. 1. I expected a [successful] job right out of college. Some would blame this on my condition of being an only child, but apparently many Millennials have this expectation. We put in hard word at school, study, get a diploma, and should now be handed a job and a good paycheck. The world gave me a major news flash when this didn’t happen immediately. Or for four years after that. That was an ego crusher, let me tell you. It may be due partly to the recovering economy, or the fact that I lived in a big city with other qualified professionals, but I didn’t expect that my Master’s degree wasn’t enough. When I first got out of school, I was lazy and was waiting for a profession to come to me. Four years and several epiphanies later, I have learned that I needed to go chase a job and literally get a foot in the door. It is awesome to have a degree, it is quite another feat entirely to land a job. 2. All I cared about was money. When I was in school and then after, I had this perception that I wanted to make a bunch of money and didn’t care about the job I did to get it. It was more important to me than loving what I was doing. Four years later I realized that uh, yeah, it actually matters—a lot. It is very important that I still have some pursuit of passion and don’t hate my job. I’m not saying you have to love your first (or second, or third) job, or even that there aren’t days when you don’t want to go to work. What I am saying is that you should never lose sight of what your passions are, and should continually try to pursue them. I now would rather make less money and be happier on a daily basis than hate what I do for 8(+) hours and live my life on the weekends. I am working my job and also blogging, painting, and jewelry making on the side. I don’t mind, though, because I love having that creative outlet. It keeps me sane. One day I plan to turn it into my own business, but that’s a story for another day. 3. I didn’t know myself and let others define me. We live in a very critical culture. A world of plastic surgery, selfies, and viral everything. For women, especially, this puts a lot of pressure not only on how we look, but also who we are as people and what success is defined as. It is easy to let our culture, parents, and friends define us. What is even scarier is that we often define ourselves by the expectations we impose upon ourselves. Frankly, I could never live up to my expectations; my bar was set at an unachievable height. It was so high I could limbo standing up. Since the new year, I have been doing some serious self-evaluation. Call it age, call it life experience, but whatever you call it, you need to do it. I took time to really reflect on where I was in my life, where I wanted to be, and where I wanted my future to go. I knew I couldn’t stay on living as the person I was in the life I was leading. It wasn’t a bad life, just not the one I wanted for myself. I started defining myself from my own inner-guidance. With self-reflection I was able to meditate on the goals that I wanted to achieve and the passions I wanted to pursue. I stopped listening to my inner critic. I stopped listening to society’s ideals. I stopped listening to what other people thought I should do. I started listening to the real me. 4. I was mentally living in college (aka. Living in the past) This was probably my biggest hurdle to overcome. College is amazing. You get to live on your own, set your own schedule, met people easily, party, learn new things, have new experiences… you get the picture. I spent six years there. My college was my home. When I graduated, moved out of the apartment I lived in for three years, and relocated to a suburban area, it was like I had landed on Mars. There were no throngs of people my age and potential friends, everything closed early, I couldn’t walk to the bars, and I didn’t get to pick the things I wanted to learn and study, while also have time during my day to do whatever I wanted to do. Changing to an “adult” schedule was challenging. I spend most of my time reminiscing and wishing I could go back. I was mentally living in the past in the biggest way, and was very depressed that I wasn’t physically living there. I had blinders on. I recently made the decision to take those blinders off, and put some sparkly adult glasses on. I realized that my college experiences were awesome, but a new adventure was waiting for me that I wasn’t diving into. Instead of lamenting about not making friends, I plan to start yoga and take an art class. Instead of being bummed things aren’t open late, I now enjoy days of gardening, crafts, and sunshine, and fall into bed happily at 10 pm. I traded the parties and late nights for vegetables and runs. Another cool thing is that adults make money, so I can buy myself a shirt or go on a weekend getaway if I want to. It’s definitely different, but intentionally living in the moment and enjoying it really makes all the difference in the world. I was afraid if I grew up and became an adult I would lose myself. The truth is, I am now myself more than ever before.

Today I sported an H&M army green dress, and dressed it up with pops of gold jewelry. I added a foxy (ha) fox print scarf for personality. I paired it with my new gray and black Franco Sarto pointed flats. Easy look and on point, totally fall appropriate.

To me, plants are part of a zen living space. And a zen office space. I think plants balance and bring back life into an area. They also provide that oh-so important element of oxygen, and can help clean the air in your home. Adding a living plant can also be one of the easiest ways to add color and spruce up a room.

The other important part of owning a plant is caring for it. Water it weekly (duh), but also check it regularly for signs that it needs to be repotted. When a plant grows to several times its size, that means its roots are growing, too. Eventually, the roots will become a tangled mess and won't be able to function as well. Plants also need fresh soil every year or so, in order to restore some fresh nutrients. You may also accomplish this with fertilizing plants 2-3 times yearly. When the tips of plants' leaves become yellowed or brown, start falling off, or the plant stops flowering, you probably need to remember to water it, or repot/feed it.

If you don't have the greenest thumb, pick something that is low maintenance, like succulents or cacti. Bamboo is also easy to grow, it just needs to be kept filled with water. Spider plants are also very easy to care for (and aren't as scary as the name implies).

Another fun part of picking a plant is picking a pot. When preparing to move offices, I noticed that my office plants had grown tremendously over the summer and probably were a mess of roots at the bottom of the pot. My spider plant was looking yellow-ish and very sad. I packed them up and brought them home this weekend.

My Money Tree was hugely overgrown in it's original, tiny pot. Yes it's called a Money Tree! It is meant to bring fortune and luck. Who can't use more of that?

My very sad spider plant I inherited from the last office tenant. Who knows when it saw new soil or fertilizer?

The roots were so long and cramped they were seeking escape out of the drainage holes of the pot.

Since it is so close to the fall, I was hard up on finding pretty, decorative, and affordable planters at Marshall's and Lowe's. During a second (and desperate) Marshall's run, I started wandering into the home decor aisles. This is when I started looking at large vases, candle holders, and decorative bowls. They were sure a lot prettier than traditional pots. If it is made out of glass or some kind of sturdy material, then it can be a pot.

Word of warning, though. These kinds of creative pots cannot drain water, so you will have to be more diligent about how much you water and how often. Water less, but make sure the soil is still somewhat moist. A larger container with more dirt means more area the water can be absorbed into, so the plant shouldn't drown.

Here is the outcome of my thinking outside the pot, creative technique...

I love the mix of natural plant and natural rope. The glass is pretty, and seeing the soil gives it a much more earthy, neutral look.

I love this glass bowl because of the foot on it. It definitely elevates the look of the plant display-- quite literally, I guess!

Overall, a unique and natural look.

My idea for my next attempt is to layer soil, sand, and rocks, or some other earthy, potting materials. Kind a natural, sundae-parfait look. The kind that Mother Nature loves.

I can't believe it is already mid-September. Where did the summer go? The prospect of of decorating my home for fall is super exciting though. This season I am feeling light and airy decorations to keep the look more neutral. Here's my 5 favorite things that I'm loving right now.

1. These real birch candle holders. There are few woods I love in a home more than birch. Actually, there aren't any. I think these beautiful pieces of nature make the perfect mantle decor.

2. This mantle. Need some convincing to use birch? Look at this beautifully done fall layout.

Photo credit: Design, Dining, and Diapers

3. PUMPKIN EVERYTHING. I recently had some pumpkin hummus that was amaaaaaze. Add that to pumpkin Starbucks, butternut squash ravioli and pasta sauce, and pumpkin...well...everything and I'm in heaven.

Photo credit: Starbucks

4. Decorating with white or light pumpkins. I think they look so fresh and are a great twist on the typical pumpkin.

5. A cozy plaid blanket. Looks perfect laying over the back of your couch or your favorite chair, or perfect for keeping you warm at a sporting event or bonfire.

5 Tips for pushing through fear and enacting change in our lives

We have all had those moments of fear. We are considering making a large life change, and then immediately start thinking of the negative outcomes and ramifications to our actions. The voice in our heads tells us all the reasons why it would turn out terribly. We start getting so afraid and anxious that we eventually think “Nah, screw it. It isn’t worth it.” Fear is actually a naturally protective instinct. Back in the caveman days it could protect us from getting hurt when we were going to do something stupid or were in a dangerous situation. However in today’s modern day world, fear can often only serve to hinder our ambitions and living the life we want. I will give you a few good examples, and maybe you can relate them to something going on in your life right now. The first is one that I have discussed in previous posts: my desire for a completely new life direction, and the fear that stalled it for years. It all started when I graduated college, and had a big idea to start a kitchen to home cupcake delivery service. This was back when cupcakes were getting to be trendy. I even bought business books on how to start a small business. Instead of pursuing it, though, my rational brain kicked in and my fear of failure and not making any money took over. I dropped my dreams faster than a hot cupcake tin and started applying to local businesses just so I could start working and bringing in some income. Cut to me a few years later—about 3 or 4 months ago—and I was still equally unhappy and unsatisfied. I never took any steps to pursue anything I truly desired in life, and my creative soul was being crushed behind a desk. Then I had an awakening. Or maybe an epiphany. Divine intervention, perhaps. Whatever you call it, my soul woke up. One day, while sitting in a meeting, my inner self voice literally said, “What am I doing?” I was so shaken that I knew I needed to make a change. I decided I was going to start this blog. I had started (and failed) with a blog before, but I knew in my heart this was the first step in making a change in my life. I was terrified that no one would read it, that it would be a failure and a waste of my time. The fear was real, and the more steps I took to starting a blog, the more real the fear became. My most current fear-inducing endeavor is starting a family. Yup, my husband and I want to have kids, and the prospect of pregnancy and birth scares the shit out of me. Almost quite literally—almost. But I am seriously terrified of the whole pregnancy process, the birth process, and, most recently, of breast-feeding—thanks internet research. Here are some methods that I recommend to you to overcome the fear you are experiencing in your life. 1. Develop the outcome. Once of the scariest things about the unknown is, well, the unknown. When our ideas are developing in our heads, it is easy for fear to push its way in like an angry elephant and stir up so much anxiety that we stop developing our ideas and simply turn the other way. When I was planning my cupcake business, I should have developed the business plan and read my books. Instead, I let fear run rampant and abandoned the whole thing before it even started. Work on your ideas and plan until it becomes a tangible road map that you can follow with realistic steps so you can start walking your journey. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: write it down. Ideas become a lot more focused on paper, and we can start actually working through them instead of letting them swirl around in our brains. Fair warning though, sometimes when we develop our plan all the way through we find out some or all of it is unreasonable. That’s okay, use the tools you learned and keep going. No one ever gained anything from being perfect, they gained it from failed experiences. 2. Research, research, research. I know, a little bit counterintuitive to my whole breast-feeding research horror, but to make an informed decision and to create a solid pathway, we need to be educated. Instead of blindly researching (which can be good), make sure to include some real life in there, too. I was freaking out after reading about breast-feeding, so I instead text my friend who is a new mom. After hearing even briefly about her experiences, I feel so much better about the whole thing. When we learn from people who have “been there, done that,” we can glean practical experiences and techniques that we may never have even thought of. Just be aware that you will never know it all, and you will always not know what you don’t know until it springs up in your face. So… 3. Don’t panic, roll with the punches. We like to think we are totally in control of our lives. The reality is that God and the universe have a pathway created for us, and it is up to us to work hard and follow it the best we can. Ever hear that phrase “It will be what it will be”? “Que sera, sera”? It’s pretty true. My experience blogging has been very up and down and not at all what I expected it to be. In the last several months I have learned that things have a way of working out, and I need to trust in the process more (more about this concept to come, but a post for another day…). I have panicked and even had serious bouts of anxiety that were so extreme that my body started reacting to it. I knew that could not continue, so I found ways to deal instead (See this post if you need some tips). I am a work in progress, but am a lot better at rolling along with the waves and zen-ing out when these bumps in the road do happen. 4. Work through the fear. You may be that kind of individual who is gripped by the fear of the fear and get paralyzed by it. Instead of trying to cut the head off of the fear-hydra (because we all know what happens to a hydra when that happens), try working through the fear. If I start a blog and want it to eventually be part of a business that becomes a career, my fear grip would be “I will never succeed and make no money and then I can’t pay bills and support my family.” That is quite a leap, wouldn’t you say? Work through the fear by breaking it down. If I start a blog and it fails, then what? No love lost. That’s it. At the current moment my blog isn’t my livelihood is it? No, I am doing it for funsies. So there is really no need to get so amped up. As it develops, and if I am fortunate that eventually I can build a brand around what I’ve created, I will overcome those fear grips at the time they arise. But right at this moment, the only thing that fear is doing is stopping me from even starting. It might not be great. But what if it is? 5. Tell yourself to stop it. Seriously, I am not kidding. This tactic doesn’t work for all fears and for all people, but sometimes I really benefit from stopping my thought mid-sentence and just saying “Stop it.” By acknowledging an irrational fear and stopping it from spiraling out of control, I regain a grip on what I was thinking of in the first place and can pick up where I left off. “Oh noooooo, but what if-“ NOPE. STOP IT. Work through your idea/dream/calling/whatever it is, and develop the plan (see step 1). I can tell you first hand you really will not get anywhere with all of the “what ifs,” what you will get is a whole bunch of wasted dreams and years lost. Start on it now, so that in a few years you have either made progress, or have joyfully failed and picked yourself back up again and set off on a new path. But who knows? Maybe I’m the crazy one… STOP IT.

I should be on top of the world. No, truly. I just accepted a new job that will finally put my Master’s degree to use, and it sounds like a great job I can be excited about. My blog had been doing well (thanks to you!), and my first t-shirt campaign sold well. My healthy eating and fitness lifestyle was great, and I was down 25 pounds.

Instead, over the last week (okay, okay, maybe more than a week), I ate worse, blogged less, and had anxiety about my current job’s work daily. I stepped on the scale this morning and discovered I was up 5 pounds. Damn it.

What happened?

To my credit— or to at least make myself feel better— the past month has been a whirlwind at work (meaning more stress), a lot of travel and family and friends (meaning bad eating and less blogging), and a lot of hot summer days and nights (meaning a whole lot less motivation to go running outside, or do anything at all).

I have been really thinking about this, though. How many of us have found a feeling of success in one (or more) aspects of our lives and then start sliding back downhill, one inch at a time? I realized this wasn’t my first time doing this, just the first time I have recognized it. I was really feeling great, very confident and excited about my future. Somehow this elation led to complacency in my routine, and my newly developed healthy habits started falling by the wayside. Bread and pasta started making a reappearance. Instead of blogging when I first walked through the door I flipped on the TV. I wasn’t maintaining a zen state of mind at work and was letting the anxieties around me begin to engulf me like a black cloud.

Just when I was feeling on top of the world, I quickly found myself in a hole looking up at the sun instead of shining like it. I get too comfortable, and then get complacent, and then get lazy. It’s like someone pushed cruise control instead of hitting the gas. Where did my ambition go?

Instead of beating myself up for it—or at least I’m trying not to— I am remembering that I am a work in process, and that life’s path will continue forward with my destiny in mind. This complacency may also be an indicator that I need to shake things up a bit. I am a creature that needs change; I get very bored of the same tasks and the same foods day after day. I have recognized this about myself, so I can now adjust it and keep going.

The next step is creating a new vision and laying out a new plan for myself. It doesn’t mean that the old one has failed, it means that I now have a clearer vantage on what works well and what doesn’t, what feels right and what isn’t quite what I imagined. Time to go back to the drawing board, as they say. Instead of erasing and starting over, though, I plan to hone, draw forward lines, and choose direction. I have signed up for a 5k, revitalized a healthy eating pact with my husband, and have meditated on a more focused direction for my blog and business.

Ultimately, what is important is recognizing why we fall, but then picking ourselves back up again, putting our feet facing forward on our life’s path, and continue to walk and build ourselves back up. We can keep life’s lessons in the back of our mind without letting them rule us in the guise of guilt. We now know what to look for, and what not to repeat. The good thing is that I have done this before, so I know I can do it again. The most important thing now is to just do it.

There I was, standing in line at the wooden tiki bar, watching the bar tender hand out coconut after coconut. Each one contained a fruity drink and a little umbrella. When it got to my turn, they asked what I wanted. I'm sure my face reflected the ludicrousness of the question. I said one of the coconut drinks, of course. They said "Sorry, we are out."

The blasphemy of it all. Since then, I have wanted to try a fruity cocktail in a coconut. As with all things, I figured "How hard can it be?" Cut to my husband axing apart a coconut like the he-man that he is. But how did we get here? Like this...

At the grocery store, I was meandering through the produce, when a pile of coconuts caught my eye. The sticker on the smooth shell said "water coconut." Was this even the right kind? Close enough, I thought. I tossed it in the cart.

When it was finally time to crack the island gold open, we debated for few minutes on how to go about it. Since we didn't have a machete, we settled with using a saw to cut off the top. After vigorous sawing, the top finally came off... revealing more husk. My wonderfully thoughtful husband had only one answer: power drill.

So, after a hugely successful attempt, I excitedly plunked a straw into the coconut, hearing the juice inside reverberate against the shell.

I took a sip... and oh my that is not good at all. It didn't taste like coconut and was room temperature. Not what I had conjured up in my head. No problem, I thought, I could just drain out the juice, add some rum and ice, and bingo bango I had myself a cocktail.

Of course once the juice was drained, we had to see the inside and taste the coconut meat. So my wonderful he-man husband got out his trusty axed and hacked into that shell until it fell apart in two pieces. This is what the inside of a fresh coconut looks like...

Neat, right? Very tropical. Unfortunately, it doesn't taste good. Not even remotely like a delicious Mounds bar. Bummer.

Rum to the rescue. I added some Bacardi, club soda, and ice. I even added a fun umbrella. This, I thought, was really it.

WOW THAT IS BAD. Like totally no good.

So this is what I learned from buying a fresh coconut: Do your research. Look up recipes. And for me, I'd say the most important thing I learned is this: just buy pre-made coconut mix.

For our anniversary my wonderful and thoughtful husband gave me a pair of beautiful orchids. I love the vibrant colors and unique shape of the flowers.

After the admiration of the gift comes the age old question that comes along with any home gift: "Where do I put it?" I finally decided to put them in our bedroom to add pops of color, and give the plants a place where they would receive plenty of morning sun.

Decorating with plants is always high on my list for home decor. They give a room some life and extra color, plus they help clean the air, something we needs in today's industrial society.

Orchids aren't as hard to care for as you think. Usually, they just require 3 ice cubes once a week. Once they get bigger, up the amount to 4. Don't cut off the stem once the flowers are spent; it will rebloom on its own. As orchids age, they grow odd-looking green shoots at the base of the plant. Never cut these off! Orchids are fairly self-sufficient.